Today I submitted “So It Will Not Break in Two” to a juried all-medium show in Maryland. (It will be a few weeks before I know if it’s accepted.) But it caused me to look at this work again, (I created it in 2018) and to think through what I had in mind when I created it.

This is a very simple piece. It’s more than simple – it’s child-like in construction. The three little houses are like the houses children draw. I wanted to use this viewpoint as a way to enter the concept of houses – homes — that break apart.

By its nature, idea of a home broken in two will stir up memories and emotions in viewers. Yet, I wanted the work to be interesting and thought-provoking, not depressing. A story-telling approach seemed like a good way in.

Things are amiss.

The houses have trees growing inside them.

The horizon line is slanted, not straight.

There are windows that appear to open into the interiors, but the images inside the windows are mostly scenes of outdoors.

At the same time, I have included visual elements that I just love to look at.

The deep teal blue of the sky is wonderful against the bright red roofs. The layered trees in the background are built from delicate stenciled washes of color, unified with a spatter pattern. It suggests a fairytale forest. Each house contains a splash of intense phthalo blue; what a color! And the diagonal lines in the foreground create energy and movement.

I think one of the things I most enjoy about creating storytelling works is that they have more to reveal after the first glance. When somebody selects a work to welcome into their home, I want it to be a source of new discoveries for many years.

“So It Will Not Break in Two” is available for purchase. It is on my web site, HERE.

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Thanks for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.

—Bobbi bobbibaughart@gmail.com